VESPASIAN

born Nov. 17?, AD 9, Reate , Latium died June 24, 79 Latin in full Caesar Vespasianus Augustus, original name Titus Flavius Vespasianus Roman emperor (AD 6979) who, though of humble birth, became the founder of the Flavian dynasty after the civil wars that followed Nero's death in 68. His fiscal reforms and consolidation of the empire generated political stability and a vast Roman building program. Additional reading For Vespasian's rise to power and the subsequent part of the civil wars, the primary source is Tacitus, The Histories (written c. AD 105; Eng. trans. by K. Wellesley, 1964); unfortunately the surviving books take the story no farther than the autumn of 70. On eastern affairs, The Jewish War of Josephus (Eng. trans. by G.A. Williamson, 1959), written a decade after the events, contains differences from Tacitus both in emphasis and in detail. Of Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars (trans. by Robert Graves), his Divus Vespasianus, written about 125, is one of the most fascinating; but it is brief and entirely deserts a chronological framework after Vespasian becomes emperor (the edition by A.W. Braithwaite, 1927, is still valuable). The only modern full-length biography of Vespasian is L.P. Homo, Vespasien, l'empereur du bon sens (6979 ap. J.-C.) (1949). But an informative sketch is provided in the well-documented study by Michael Grant, Twelve Caesars (1975).